Groovin' Griot

Groovin' Griot Season 2 Finale

We've come to the end of Season 2 and it's been a great ride. In this finale episode, we recap some of the major themes from this season and thread all the interviews together.   Thanks to all of our amazing guests this season, and to all you for listening.  Catch you in Season 3! Produced & Edited by OreOluwa Badaki and Azsaneé Truss with support from the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University.  Theme music: Unrest by ELPHNT on Directory.Audio  Licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  Email us at groovingriot@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram @groovingriot [https://www.instagram.com/groovingriot/]

Bridging dance and ecology

Who knew movin' and groovin' could be such a great way to learn about the environment? Well...Dr. Jamē McCray did! On this episode we chat with her about how she combines her work as an ecologist and as a choreographer to design innovative education and policy initiatives. She takes us behind the scenes of some of the movement-based work she has done with the Schuylkill River, and shares insights from a project on the future of agriculture in light of climate change. Dr. McCray is also a seasoned salsera, so for this movement break we take you along with us to a local salsa night. Make sure to bring your dancing shoes! Find episode resources here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRb9-L5ilsrBcpOZc0aEjjJ-xZQkts7A1s7Ad27PWZceaEiSRj5Q0viC0tYv2CWJNxsq0ow7AsOZEs3/pub] Find episode transcript here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSOSKL8y3ISN4lPWBRnveJoKGXS2hcc6BV8VvRo6-lsohqHLNoImpGxNcgiXMJCdQ/pub] Produced & edited by OreOluwa Badaki and Azsaneé Truss with support from the Digital Futures Institute (DFI) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Check out more DFI podcasts here [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/]. Don't miss the latest episodes from Season 2 of the Curriculum Encounters [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/curriculum-encounters/]podcast with Drs. Jacqueline Simmons and Sarah Gerth van den Berg!  Theme music: Unrest by ELPHNT on Directory.Audio  Licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  Follow us on Instagram @groovingriot [https://www.instagram.com/groovingriot/]

Echoes that orient us

Africa in Stereo: Modernism, Music, and Pan-African Solidarity [https://english.duke.edu/books/africa-stereo-modernism-music-and-pan-african-solidarity] is a book that's been really influential for how we think about Diaspora on this podcast. Among other important contributions, the book uses the metaphor of echolocation (the process of orienting oneself by emitting sounds and listening to the echoes that come back) to describe diasporic experiences. On this episode, we get to talk with the book's author, Professor Tsitsi Ella Jaji, and hear the behind the scenes scoop on the music and movement experiences that led her to this work, as well as on the multimodal projects she has been pursing since the book's publication. We reflect on our time with Professor Jaji while perusing Hakim's Bookstore [https://www.hakimsbookstore.com/]; credited as the first Black-owned bookstore in Philadelphia and on the East Coast. A special thanks to owner of Hakim's, Ms. Yvonne Blake, for showing us around. For our movement break, we take you to a rehearsal session for a piece OreOluwa is part of called "Echoes of the Diaspora." The piece traces rhythms from the African diaspora and will be performed by a dynamic ensemble brought together by Baba Kala Jojo. Don't forget to clap, sing, or dance along if you feel so moved! Find more episode resources here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRb9-L5ilsrBcpOZc0aEjjJ-xZQkts7A1s7Ad27PWZceaEiSRj5Q0viC0tYv2CWJNxsq0ow7AsOZEs3/pub] Find episode transcript here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQIXu30KaZywIi-7xE4i_aAkCBdvyXQifT9PzijG0lpWsp7jZMYvGQABo13DOGISXZZ5p8hwoucMMsB/pub] Produced & edited by OreOluwa Badaki and Azsaneé Truss with support from the Digital Futures Institute (DFI) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Check out more DFI podcasts here [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/]. Don't miss the upcoming launch of the Black and Asian Solidarity Collective [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2024/february/tcs-black-and-asian-solidarity-collective-showcases-the-power-of-community/]'s podcast with co-hosts Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz and Dr. Judy Yu!     Theme music: Unrest by ELPHNT on Directory.Audio  Licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  Follow us on Instagram @groovingriot [https://www.instagram.com/groovingriot/]

Mapping diasporic rhythms

Travel with us across the Black Atlantic with Deirdre Molloy, a dancer, ethnographer, and multimedia artist who specializes in Afro diasporic rhythms. We'll take you behind the scenes of Deirdre's Unity Map [https://unityatlantic.org/], unpack what rhythm codes are, and trace popular rhythms like tresillo across the globe...all while hanging out at our new favorite record store in Philly. Special thanks to Rashid Amon for showing us around Sook Vinyl and Vintage [https://sookvinyl.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopMCI8jhAmrUEocFjsyH9gAIUNaqDLASlpXePFTw5MMr7dKIzaU] For our movement break, we'll take you to an event at Congo Square, New Orleans, hosted by the Congo Square Preservation Society [https://www.congosquarepreservationsociety.org/]. Buckle up, it's gonna be an exciting ride! Find more episode resources here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRb9-L5ilsrBcpOZc0aEjjJ-xZQkts7A1s7Ad27PWZceaEiSRj5Q0viC0tYv2CWJNxsq0ow7AsOZEs3/pub] Find episode transcript here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR46lMuU1GDmscbYFkWlujReCqTebKsAMeGYFulV-vZS0Kk-TxHNDhhLH7VttTDmg/pub] Produced & edited by OreOluwa Badaki and Azsaneé Truss with support from the Digital Futures Institute (DFI) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Check out more DFI podcasts here [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/]. Don't miss the latest episodes from Season 2 of the Curriculum Encounters [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/curriculum-encounters/]podcast with Drs. Jacqueline Simmons and Sarah Gerth van den Berg!  Theme music: Unrest by ELPHNT on Directory.Audio  Licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  Follow us on Instagram @groovingriot [https://www.instagram.com/groovingriot/]

Indigeneity in dance pedagogy and performance

"Behind-the-scenes" on this episode means calling back the ancestral and indigenous practices that are integral to both dance pedagogy and performance. We talk with Dr. Ojeya Cruz Banks, who specializes in the unique intersections between African diasporic and indigenous Pacific dances. Dr. Cruz Banks share insights on the role of ethnography in dance research, what to make of "ancestral currency", and how altar making can support performance and practice. She even graces us with a beautiful song from a recent performance piece, which we play during our movement break. Find episode resources here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRb9-L5ilsrBcpOZc0aEjjJ-xZQkts7A1s7Ad27PWZceaEiSRj5Q0viC0tYv2CWJNxsq0ow7AsOZEs3/pub] Find episode transcript here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTHTdzjFN7DXkYcWSPoR5A5QQg-2rqPRkcxY1AHL3mp1nQY4k2wMwhHxbZ-7gMzRw/pub] Produced & edited by OreOluwa Badaki and Azsaneé Truss with support from the Digital Futures Institute (DFI) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Check out more DFI podcasts here [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/]. Don't miss the latest episodes from Season 2 of the Curriculum Encounters [https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/media/curriculum-encounters/]podcast with Drs. Jacqueline Simmons and Sarah Gerth van den Berg!  Theme music: Unrest by ELPHNT on Directory.Audio  Licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  Follow us on Instagram @groovingriot [https://www.instagram.com/groovingriot/]